Indian Removal Act of 1830: Unveiling its Impact

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Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, impacting the lives of the Indians. This was supposed to be a peaceful move for the Indians, but has caused many problems, including wars and being forced off their land with consequences. There were protests from both the Indians and whites who did not agree with the Indian Removal Act, but whites wanted more land. The Indian Removal act of 1830 is a turning point in American history because Andrew Jackson was firm on wanting the Indians to move, the event was harsh, and the long-term effects impact us still today.
After Europeans came to America, Indians were constantly forced to move because of the greed of Europeans wanting land. Each war would result in Indians signing treaties involving …show more content…

Any Indians that had to be forced to move were joined by American military to ensure that they leave. They were not guaranteed to bring their belongings with them and often had to watch their land be destroyed before they left (Peppas 2013, page#).
The Choctaw was the first of the Indian tribes to sign a treaty, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. About 15,000 Choctaw left and 2,500 died during their leave (Peppas 2013, page#). They were allowed to stay “under the terms of the Removal Act.” Any of them that chose to stay were pressured to move off by whites who would move to the land or stole from them even though they were supposed to be protected (PBS).
The Chickasaw signed the Treaty of Washington in 1830 exchanging their land for money, but were not paid by the government for 30 years. They brought their slaves with them on the move (Peppas 2013, page#). They bought part of the Choctaw territory, because they had a hard time finding land that they wanted. (Native History …show more content…

Some of the Seminoles left peacefully after signing the Treaty of Payne’s Landing. Some of the Seminoles refused to leave which resulted in the wars (Peppas 2013, page#). The American military had been defeated in many of the battles and the wars cost millions of dollars and thousands of lives. Many of the Seminoles eventually agreed to move after the second war (Native History Association). There was still a third war against the Seminole, but eventually they were paid to move. Some managed not to get caught and remained in Florida (The Seminole Wars Foundation,

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